How to treat osteochondrosis

Unfortunately, osteochondrosis has become a common occurrence for people over the age of 30. Degenerative-dystrophic changes in the intervertebral discs and spinal bones most often occur due to a passive lifestyle, malnutrition, extra pounds, hard physical work, and others. The disease manifests itself with severe symptoms at stages 2-4, when the structure of cartilage tissue is fully restored will no longer function. Complications of osteochondrosis (bulges, herniated discs, osteophytes, etc. ) can lead to decreased quality of life, disability.

Timely treatment of osteochondrosis increases a person’s chances for a full life. It is recommended to start therapy at an early stage of its development. To stop the development of pathology and improve the general state of health, it is necessary to carry out various measures: medication, exercise therapy, physiotherapy, manual exposure. Surgical treatment is carried out only in advanced cases, when complications are already present.

Characteristics of the disease

Posterior osteochondrosis begins with destruction of the intervertebral disc. Under the influence of negative factors, the disc compresses the cartilage layer, violating the integrity of its outer skin. The height of the disc decreases, it gradually collapses, then the pathology spreads to the vertebral tissue.

There are many factors that influence the development of spinal osteochondrosis:

• Prolonged sitting in the wrong position.
• Passive lifestyle.
• Overweight.
• Hard physical work.
• Back injury.
• Frequent nerve disorders.
• Wrong nutrition.
• Hypothermia.
• hereditary tendencies.
• Wearing heeled shoes, pregnant women, etc.

References. In stages 1 - 2, osteochondrosis can still be cured.

Doctors distinguish 4 stages of osteochondrosis:

• Grade 1 - cracks appear on the fibrous ring, the height of the disc decreases. There is discomfort in the affected area, the back becomes tired faster.
• Grade 2 - disc height continues to decrease, muscles, ligaments relax, vertebral mobility increases. There is pain, especially after doing physical exercise.
• Grade 3 - the disc is slightly shifted, protrusion appears, the possibility of subluxations or arthrosis of the spinal joints increases. Significant pain syndrome appears, limited mobility, impaired sensitivity in the damaged area.
• Grade 4 - osteophytes appear on the vertebrae, so the body stabilizes the spine. Bone growth compresses nerves, injures the vertebrae, and increases the risk of fibrous ankylosis (a combination of spinal joints).

important. Osteochondrosis can affect segments of the cervix, thorax, lumbar spine.

Diseases of the cervical region are indicated by pain in the neck, upper limbs, cephalgia (headache). In addition, dizziness, hearing and vision impairment, etc. maybe happen.

Thoracic osteochondrosis is easily confused with heart disease, because the pain syndrome is localized in the chest area.

Symptoms of lumbar osteochondrosis - aching pain, limited mobility, pain, impaired sensitivity of the lower body.

The clinical picture of osteochondrosis is varied, so you should not make your own diagnosis. See a doctor if you have any suspicious symptoms.

Osteochondrosis treatment scheme

In most cases, when detecting osteochondrosis, conservative methods are used. It is important to carry out comprehensive treatment to relieve pain, normalize spinal function and prevent complications.

The treatment regimen for osteochondrosis is as follows:

• Limit physical activity.
• Taking medications.
• Physiotherapy procedures.
• Physiotherapy.
• massage.
• Manual therapy.
• Stretching of the spine.

It is possible to cure osteochondrosis only by combining the above methods. The treatment plan for each patient is prepared separately by the physician, taking into account the stage of the disease, age, and characteristics of the organism.

Effective treatment will help eliminate the symptoms of osteochondrosis in 1 to 3 months. Then maintenance therapy was carried out for 12 months. This will help to consolidate the results, preventing relapse.

It is possible to treat posterior chondrosis (stage 1 osteochondrosis) without medication. Patients can perform physiotherapy exercises, reduce the load on the damaged back, use applicators (roller Lyapko, iplicator Kuznetsov), improve nutrition, abandon bad habits.

Medications

It is treated with medications recommended to worsen osteochondrosis. Medications will help relieve pain, inflammation, improve blood circulation in the affected area, and normalize motor activity.

With osteochondrosis, the following medications are used:

• NSAIDs relieve pain and inflammation.
• Drugs with vasodilating effect. They are used because of muscle tension, narrow blood vessels to expand their lumen and improve blood circulation.
• Muscle relaxation relaxes cramped muscles, normalizes blood flow, relieves pain, increases mobility and accelerates tissue repair.
• Chondroprotectors stop the destruction of the cartilage layer.
• Psycholeptics based on herbal or synthetic components soothe or reduce emotional stress without causing hypnotic effects.
• Vitamin B -based preparations accelerate the recovery of damaged nerve fibers.

All of these medications help fight chronic osteochondrosis, only they can be taken for medical reasons.

Opioid non -narcotic analgesics are used to relieve severe pain in the acute period of the disease. Glucocorticoids are used for the same purpose. However, these drugs have a negative effect on the body, so it can be taken as a last resort.

In addition to tablets and injections, during exacerbations of osteochondrosis, creams and gels with an irritating effect and local warming are used.

Physiotherapy

Complex therapy of osteochondrosis is always complemented by therapeutic exercises. However, the exercises for different parts of the spine are different.

In order not to strain the neck, other muscle groups should also be involved during the class. The exercise begins with a warm -up and ends with a relaxation exercise.

Complexes for cervical osteochondrosis:

• Lie on your back, lift your head, straighten for 5-7 seconds.
• Do not change the starting position (IP), place your hands on your shoulders, rotate your elbows in different directions.
• The IP is the same, raise your hands above your head in turns, tear one, and then the second shoulder blade off the floor.
• Press the back of your head to the floor, straighten for 4 seconds.
• Connect the shoulder blades, hold for 5 seconds.
• Roll on your side, rest your head on your hands, lift your free limb with your head, straighten for 4 seconds. Repeat for the other side.
• Lie on your stomach, place your hands behind your head, lift your head, straighten for 4 seconds.

If you experience severe pain and dizziness, stop exercising and see a doctor.

References. Thoracic osteochondrosis is less common than cervical or lumbar, as this is the most immobile department. In addition, it is strengthened by muscles and ribs.

Exercises for lesions of the thoracic segment of the spine:

• Lie on your back, bend your knees, press to your chest with your hands, lift your lower back slightly off the floor, tighten your abdominal muscles, hold for 5 seconds.
• Same SP, raise arms, straighten legs, grasp opposite arms and legs, correct. Repeat for the other limbs.
• Rolling on your stomach, stretch your arms to the side. Raise your hands and get off the floor, straighten for 3 seconds.
• Stand on all fours, lift head, bend back while inhaling, lower head while exhaling, round buttocks.

Move smoothly, avoid sudden movements.

For the treatment of lumbar osteochondrosis, the following exercises are used:

• Lying on your back, pull your knees to your chest alternately.
• The same PI, set aside the right arm and leg, and then the left limb.
• Place your hands behind your head, tear them off the floor, at the same time pull your socks towards you.
• Bend your legs at the knees, stretch your right knee to your left leg, and then vice versa.
• Do the "Bike" exercise back and forth.
• Roll to your side, swing your legs up.
• PI is the same, pull the knee to the chest.
• Crawling, taking turns moving your hands to the side.

This exercise helps stretch and relax tense muscles, improving blood circulation and lymph flow.

There are many more exercises. To create a complex that suits you, consult a doctor.

Physiotherapy procedures

Physiotherapy helps relieve pain, reduce inflammation, improve blood circulation and trophism.

In the treatment of osteochondrosis, the following physiotherapeutic procedures are used:

• Electrophoresis with medications helps relieve pain in the presence of neurological disorders.
• Electrotherapy improves blood circulation, tissue nutrition.
• Laser therapy relieves inflammation, anesthetizes, accelerates tissue healing, activates biological processes in nerve tissue.
• Shock wave therapy improves local blood circulation, metabolic processes, reduces swelling, pain.
• Detensor therapy - traction of the spine under its own weight. Helps relieve excruciating pain syndrome.
• Balneotherapy is a complex procedure using fresh water, minerals or the sea. After a course of treatment, the pain disappears, blood microcirculation improves.

In addition, diadynamic therapy, amplipulse therapy, ultrasound, magnetotherapy, and vibration methods can be used for osteochondrosis.

References. Osteochondrosis is treated with bees, this technique is called apitherapy. During the procedure, bee venom is injected into the biologically active point to enhance the effects of the complex treatment. Insecticides relieve pain, increase mobility, blood microcirculation, conduction through nerve pathways, increase the elasticity of the intervertebral disc.

Manual therapy

In the treatment of osteochondrosis, patients are shown not only massage, but also manual exposure (soft and hard).

With the help of massage, specialists normalize muscle tone, improve blood circulation, and restore nerve cell activity. The session begins with kneading and rubbing, this technique helps prepare the body for further exposure.

After the warm -up sequence, the doctor proceeded with mobilization and automobilization. During the procedure, it slowly acts on the spinal joints, gradually increasing the amplitude. Automobilization consists of performing movements by the patient himself under the supervision of a physician. This procedure helps increase interarticular gaps, reduce blood stasis in veins, and improve trophism.

To restore the correct position of the displaced vertebrae, the doctor proceeds with the manipulation technique. He performs sharp and rapid movements in the affected area, setting the vertebrae in their usual place. It helps relieve pain, muscle cramps, improve mobility.

Attention. Manual therapy for osteochondrosis can cause serious complications (fractures, vertebral displacement, damage to nerves, blood vessels, ligaments or muscles). To prevent this from happening, you need to find an experienced specialist.

Treatment of orthopedic hardware and devices

Devices for the treatment of osteochondrosis can be used at home, but only after doctor's approval.

In addition, for back health, patients can use orthopedic devices. Special pillows or rollers help unload the neck and lower back, they are used during rest or in transport. To support the physiological curve of the neck, a medical collar is used. Posture correction, corset improves posture, unloading of the thoracic, lumbosacral spine.

References. You can wear a corset and correction no more than 2-3 hours a day. This mode will help to prevent muscle weakness.

A special belt is used for the lower back. It can be worn at work, during sports.

Restoration of the people

Complex therapy can be supplemented with effective folk remedies. However, cervical, thoracic and lumbar osteochondrosis are accompanied by different symptoms, so different recipes are used to treat it.

Folk remedies for neck treatment:

• Hold burdock leaves on steam for 5-10 minutes, attach them to the neck, attach with a bandage. You can also soak gauze in a decoction of burdock and use it as a compress.
• Make a decoction of birch leaves, apply a compress to the affected area.
• Peel a radish root, squeeze the juice, mix with vodka (1: 1), rub the neck.
• Pour 250 g of needles into 1 liter of boiling water, leave for 30 minutes. Drink twice a day after meals.

Also, with cervical osteochondrosis, you can take a bath with a decoction of conifers.

If the thoracic area is affected, use the following recipe:

• Mix dandelion root, mint, birch buds, coriander in equal proportions. Pour 100 ml of boiling water 3 tbsp. l. collection, cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add 75 g of butter and sunflower oil to the warm mixture, cook for another 20 minutes. Rub a warm ointment on your back.
• Grind black radish or horseradish, squeeze the juice, rub the affected area.
• Steam wormwood or flax seeds, place them in a cloth bag, apply on the back of the thorax.

At home, you can knead your back with a massage tape.

If the lumbosacral area is affected, use the following medications:

• Drink boiled water of lingonberry leaves, thyme, hop cones, cinquefoil.
• Apply a compress of horseradish juice or raw potatoes.
• Rub the lower back with an ointment of 200 g of melted lard mixed with beeswax and marshmallow root.

Also, with lumbar osteochondrosis, you can wear a fur belt, which has a warming effect.

Before using any folk remedies, consult your doctor.

Surgical intervention

The operation is prescribed in the presence of complications, which are accompanied by numbness of the limbs, severe prolonged pain, inadvertent urination or defecation. Also, surgical treatment is required for cauda equina syndrome (compression of the nerve endings of the lower spinal cord).

Surgical techniques will help eliminate the cause of pain and stabilize the spine:

• Facetectomy is the removal of a facet joint that compresses a nerve bundle.
• Foraminotomy - an increase in the lumen of the root canal by removing osteophytes. After the procedure, the nerve is released from the violation.
• Laminectomy is the removal of the back of a deformed vertebra that compresses the spinal cord.
• Laminotomy is used to widen the opening through which the nerve root passes.
• Discectomy - removal of the affected disc or part of it with an intervertebral hernia. This is minimally invasive endoscopic surgery, after which the patient recovers more quickly.
• A corpectomy is the removal of the entire vertebra and the disc adjacent to it. The empty space is then filled with bone grafts.

Fusion of the vertebrae is done to prevent spinal instability. Also, special screws, rods, plates are used to fix the vertebrae.

Attention. After surgery, there is a risk of complications: damage to the spinal cord, nerve bundles, infections in the affected area, urinary disorders, etc. Therefore, surgical intervention is performed only in extreme cases.

Recovery after surgery can take several months. During this period, the patient must give up physical activity, bad habits, follow the doctor's recommendations.

Reviews

According to patients, it is very difficult to cure osteochondrosis completely. Those who carry out complex therapy in the early stages of pathology relieve pain and improve their physical shape. Patients who seek help at an advanced stage of the disease still experience a recurrence of osteochondrosis.

First review, female, 42 years

"I was diagnosed with stage 2 neck osteochondrosis. At first he was treated with analgesics and muscle relaxants (injections, tablets), and then he took a chondroprotector and did gymnastics. In addition, he visited a manual specialist. After a few months, the pain subsided. that's gone. I plan to take the course again to consolidate the results. I do gymnastics every day.

Second review, female, 38 years

"I started having back pain about 2 years ago. When I couldn't take it anymore, I went to the doctor. I was diagnosed with osteochondrosis of the neck, a rheumatologist prescribed medication, physiotherapy, massage. About 2 weeks after the start of treatment, the symptoms were almost gone. completely gone. Now that I do gymnastics, I go to the pool for prevention.

Third review, female, 41 years

"I was diagnosed with osteochondrosis of the neck, as well as a C5-C6 hernia. I took medication, went for a massage, went to an osteopath, and had been doing gymnastics regularly for 2 years. However, nothing helped, the pain disappeared for a while, plus the handsI started numb. The doctor prescribed a discectomy, after the operation the condition improved, but not for long. I think you need to be treated for the rest of your life. "

Most important

As you can see, osteochondrosis requires long -term treatment and self -discipline. Therapy should be comprehensive: medications (in the acute period), exercise therapy, physiotherapy, massage, manual exposure. The patient must change his lifestyle, regularly do gymnastics, abandon bad habits, eat properly, use orthopedic devices. You can supplement therapy with medical devices and folk remedies, but only after doctor's approval. If there are complications, surgery is performed, followed by a lengthy recovery. Patients must strictly adhere to the doctor’s recommendations to speed recovery.